CHEM 121 SCC Chemistry My Responsibility in The Social Purpose Paper

Consider the components of being an engaged citizen. In your Social Purpose essay, you considered what you value, identifying what is important to you. You can review your essay to reflect on where you started the quarter, and consider how your work in this class has influenced your motivation and resources that you now bring to society. Consider the scientific skills you have gained, and practice science communication about the issues you are about. Here are some questions to consider:

What do you feel is a responsibility that falls to you? What are you uniquely positioned to do, or, what is it that can only be done by you?

This could be: having a conversation with an entrenched relative, voting in your local elections, volunteering at your child’s school, getting involved or starting a club at your school, sharing your skills as a scientist (such as evaluating sources of information and backing up your arguments with peer-reviewed research). What else?

You have the skills, and you know how to do it. What will you commit to doing? Now, and in an ongoing way?

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Forum: CJ Forum 1
Post: Climate justice
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Climate justice
Posted by: Ahmed Hassan, Tue, Oct 25, 2022, 2:52 pm
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Two topics from the video are racial justice and diverse appointments in positions of power. According to
Lammy(2020), racial justice advocacy is essential to preserving the environment. He compels us to view
the climate issue as a humanitarian emergency in need of remedies that are comprehensive, diverse, and
equal. This entails associating the climate change narrative with mistreating people of color(Lammy,
2020). The need to safeguard Black lives from climate emergencies has gotten so little attention. For a
long time, initiatives for racial justice have been separated from those for climate justice. Lammy asks for
the integration and endorsement of Black and minority governance on climate concerns and a global
awareness that racial, socioeconomic, and intergenerational justice are necessary to address climate
change.
Lammy is apprehensive about the disproportionate number of white leaders regarding leadership. The
majority-white representatives of the U.S. and U.K. climate campaigns have not given Black and brown
individuals’ experiences with climate change nearly sufficient consideration for far too long (Lammy,
2020). This is not only inappropriate, but it is also irresponsible. The absence of inclusiveness gives rise
to the idea that Black and brown support is essential to the green vote. We must actively advocate for
persons of color to have better exposure and empowerment to realize the climate change
objective(Lammy, 2020). We require more persons of color speaking about environmental racism and
enacting change in governments, corporate boards, international bodies, and on screens. Scholarships and
grants are necessary to encourage more young persons of color to pursue careers in environmental and
climate science (Lammy, 2020). Additionally, we must utilize our positions of power to stop outrageous
and ongoing efforts to prevent the participation of Black and Brown people.
On racial justice, I focus more on how society affects my ethnicity and how my race impacts my
perspective in society because I am devoted to racial fairness. I have never truly experienced racism or
discrimination, but I have everyone around me who frequently spoke about how they had experienced or
seen them at some time in their life. However, my first-grade teacher had a big impact on how I felt about
matters of racism and prejudice. Martin Luther King Jr. studied for the majority of that academic year. I
learnt about racism and what had transpired to black people in the past for the first moment at that point,
among other things. I was greatly influenced by that academic year, and ever since, I have tried to treat
everyone fairly, regardless of their race, gender, cognitive level, and socioeconomic position. Through
this encounter, I have learned what democracy is and how to utilize it.
I continue to learn about racial issues and racism, and I think that everyone must contribute to the
remedy. Despite having this perspective on life and people, I have never given racism and the
accompanying vices of prejudice and stereotyping much consideration. I believe that my presumption
that everyone acted equally was skewed and prevented me from recognizing the reality. I became aware
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during the class session of the dreadful and uncalled-for encounters that most Americans had daily. I
ultimately understood that racism and the vices it fosters are regional notions people use to feel great and
fulfilltheir desires. I also came to see that some situations have an impact on people regardless of their
age, color, or religion. I was in distress as I thought about how challenging it must be to deal with these
circumstances regularly. In my opinion, racism is abominable in all forms. I thus try my utmost to avoid
any form of racism.
One golden quote I agree with is “Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future, and
renders the present inaccessible” by Maya Angelou. I chose this quote because it is a reminder that bias is
a limiting factor that creates psychological images that prohibits us from seeing the world clearly. It is a
call for people to be fair and equal without prejudice.
The second golden quote I agree with is “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be
changed until it is faced.” By James Baldwin. In this quote Baldwin is calling for people to come together
and face a problem like systemic prejudice or discrimination. If governments followed this direction,
there would be less discrimination in positions of power which could lead to inclusion and greater
advances in climate change.
Reference
Lammy, D. (2020). Climate justice cannot happen without racial justice. Ted.com; TED Talks.

language=en
Score: 10 points
Re: Climate justice
Posted by: Fern Rain, Tue, Nov 1, 2022, 7:17 pm
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Your post is extremely thorough and very well written! The connection between racial and climate
justice is intricate and too often ignored.
I love your quotes from James Baldwin and Maya Angelou. The idea of facing things that are
overwhelming in order to meet them definitely ties in to the video that I watched about anxiety and
climate change.
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11/16/22, 8:37 PM
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Forum: CJ #2
Post: coping with a heating planet
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coping with a heating planet
Posted by: Ahmed Hassan, Tue, Nov 1, 2022, 10:02 pm
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Coping with a Heating Planet
It was surprising to learn about how extreme heat is affecting the climate and society. The heat wave that occurred in Washington state in June 2021 was
concerning to me. It was recorded that this extreme heat wave caused the deaths of at least 112 people (Erin Gibbons, 2022). The main cause of the
heating is carbon dioxide emission which mainly results from transportation. But other greenhouse gases including methane are also causing heat waves.
Several actions can be taken to reduce the occurrence of heat waves. Some of them can be done individually and others can be done collectively as a
society. The actions which can be done individually seem to motivate me more because they can be done with little to no effort. One such action is
checking on our neighbors’ well-being. When checking on the neighbors during a heat wave, we would be able to immediately notice if they have
difficulty due to dehydration and hypothermia (Erin Gibbons, 2022). And if someone is having difficulty, we could give them a sponge bath, fan them or
take them to the nearest hospital as soon as possible. Also sharing our airconditioned house with the neighbors might be helpful during heat waves. But
using an air conditioner is not an ideal solution since they contribute to greenhouse gasses and human-generated climate change. Keeping close contact
with neighbors can save our lives if the situation would reverse. Another action is to research heat waves. More knowledge would always be beneficial
when it comes to heat waves and adjusting our lifestyles and homes accordingly.
The muscles contracting during exercise generate a lot of heat as a consequence of metabolism. Additionally, when the surrounding temperature is
higher than the skin temperature, heat is transferred from the air to the body. When perspiration/sweat is evaporated, a large amount of heat is absorbed
(to break bonds between water molecules). This is called the latent heat of vaporization (Vitz et al., 2021). During this evaporation of sweat, the water
(sweat) that is in the liquid state would convert into the gaseous phase to form water vapor. The heat that is needed is absorbed from the excess heat
produced inside the body. This heat is transferred from the body to water on the surface of the skin. Once the evaporation is completed, the excessive
heat inside the body would be reduced and in turn lower the body temperature.
Figure 1
How Sweat Evaporates from Skin (Zhong et al., 2021)
References
Erin Gibbons. (2022, February 18). Climate Justice: Heat and Heat Illness [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQKdoVo4kzU
Vitz, E., Moore, J. W., Shorb, J., Prat-Resina, X., Wendorff Hahn, T., & Hahn, A. (2021, July 13). Thermoregulation and Hydration. Chemistry
LibreTexts.
https://chem.libretexts.org/Ancillary_Materials/Exemplars_and_Case_Studies/Exemplars/Sports_Physiology_and_Health/Thermoregulation_and_Hydration
Zhong, B., Jiang, K., Wang, L., & Shen, G. (2021). Wearable Sweat Loss Measuring Devices. From the Role of Sweat Loss to Advanced Mechanisms
and Designs, 9(1), 3. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/advs.202103257
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Re: coping with a heating planet
Posted by: JIAQI YU, Tue, Nov 8, 2022, 4:12 pm
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Hi, Ahmed,
I agree that it would be more of a direct observation and available help if we could pay attention to the wellbeing of our neighbours/community
members. And I’m hopeful that our philanthropic spirit would come forth during difficult times.
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11/16/22, 8:38 PM
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Forum: Experience 2
Post: Natural gas
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Natural gas
Posted by: Ahmed Hassan, Tue, Nov 8, 2022, 10:17 pm
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Natural gas is a naturally occurring mixture of gases that primarily contain methane and some higher
alkanes. The gas is inexpensive, extremely reliable, and environmentally friendly compared to other
fossil fuels. It is also known to show some efficiency in storage and transportation. Aside from heating,
natural gas is also known to have some uses, including operating refrigerators with other cooling
equipment, providing outdoor lighting, and drying clothes.
There are instances where there could be natural gas leaks. This could occur whenever there are leakages
in a pipeline, which could be dangerous since the gas could form explosive concentrations. Such leakages
could cause fire and explosions, kill trees and vegetation, and promote the release of greenhouse gases
into the atmosphere (Faramawy, Zaki, & Sakr, 2016).Natural gas acts as a greenhouse gas because it has
a property that puts it to e in a position to absorb the infrared radiations emitted from the surface of the
Earth and reradiate it back to the surface of the Earth. Heating a natural gas could result in some effects.
This is true, particularly with the unserviced gas heaters that could easily spill carbon monoxide – a gas
that cannot be seen or smelled easily but could result in illness and death.
Image of natural gas on a stove
Reference
Faramawy, S., Zaki, T., & Sakr, A. E. (2016). Natural gas origin, composition, and processing: A
review. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 34, 34-54.
Score: 5 points
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